Dolphy's musical presence was
influential to many young jazz musicians who would later become prominent.
Dolphy worked intermittently with Ron Carter and Freddie Hubbard throughout his
career, and in later years he hired Herbie Hancock, Bobby Hutcherson and Woody
Shaw to work in his live and studio bands. Out to Lunch! featured yet another
young performer, drummer Tony Williams, and Dolphy's participation on the Point
of Departure session brought him into contact with the tenor player Joe
Henderson.
Carter, Hancock and Williams
would go on to become one of the quintessential rhythm sections of the decade,
both together on their own albums and as the backbone of Miles Davis's second
great quintet. This aspect of the second great quintet is an ironic footnote
for Davis, who was antithetical of Dolphy's music: in a 1964 Down Beat
"Blindfold Test", Miles quipped: "The next time I see [Dolphy]
I'm going to step on his foot." However, Davis new quintet's rhythm
section had all worked under Dolphy, thus creating a band whose brand of
"out" was strongly influenced by Dolphy.
Dolphy's virtuoso instrumental
abilities and unique style of jazz, deeply emotional and free but strongly
rooted in tradition and structured composition, heavily influenced such
musicians